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The New York Yankees have historically been the MLB's biggest spender, but as of late, other teams such as the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, just to name a few, have been matching their financial might. And it looks as though this is going to cost them in the Juan Soto free agency sweepstakes, with some insiders reporting that the Mets should be considered the favorite to acquire the 26-year-old right fielder.
Thus, it might be time for the Yankees to prepare their contingency plan in the event that Soto departs the Bronx for Queens. And it looks as though they have already prepared a bold backup plan just in case Soto is no longer with the team for 2025 and beyond.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Yankees plan to sign first baseman Christian Walker, one of Willy Adames or Alex Bregman to play third base (moving Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second), as well as one of the three-best starting pitchers on the market (Max Fried, Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell). Moreover, they also plan to pursue a trade for Chicago Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger so they could move Aaron Judge back to his natural position at right field.
Of course, considering how many moving parts there is to the Yankees' reported master plan in the event of a Soto departure, it will be very difficult for them to pull all of those moves off. They should have the financial capability to splurge and spread the wealth around the roster if Soto decides to leave, but it always takes two to tango in free agency; will those players still be available for the Yankees to sign by the time Soto makes his decision?
Regardless, if the Yankees could pull off all those moves, then that would be a very positive response to what is an otherwise disastrous scenario.
Are the Yankees better off spreading the wealth?
The argument for keeping Juan Soto speaks for itself; he's coming off an 8.1 WAR season, and he helped unlock a higher level from Aaron Judge and the Yankees at the heart of the order. He's only 26 years old as well, so signing him to a decade-plus-long deal isn't as risky as most free-agent deals are.
But spreading the wealth across multiple positions has its merits as well; Christian Walker, Willy Adames, Cody Bellinger and Alex Bregman are all quality players, and having multiple of them instead of just one helps cover for potential injury problems that may arise. Moreover, if it opens up room in the budget for one more ace-caliber pitcher, then that would make the Yankees an even more formidable team.
